Complain about a product or service

Mediterranean Diet May Extend Alzheimer’s Patients’ Lives

Earlier study finds Mediterranean diet lowers risk of developing Alzheimer's

September 11, 2007

• Dementia Linked To Obesity • Studies Find Link Between Diabetes and Alzheimer's • Lifestyle Linked to Alzheimer's Onset • Pot Belly in Middle Age Linked to Alzheimer's • 10 Million Boomers Face Alzheimer's • Alzheimer's Risk Higher in Victims' Children • Fast-Acting Alzheimer's Therapy Excites Researchers • Too Much Sugar May Increase Alzheimer’s Risk • Beta Carotene May Slow Memory Loss • Promising Alzheimer’s Discovery Reported • Misconceptions About Alzheimer's Vary Among Races • Mediterranean Diet May Extend Alzheimer’s Patients’ Lives • Researchers Link Smoking To Dementia • Caffeine May Keep Dementia At Bay In Women • Alzheimer’s Drug Seen As “Safe, Effective” • Researchers “A Step Closer” To Alzheimer’s Cure • FDA Approves Alzheimer’s Patch • Scientists Raise Hopes For Alzheimer's Vaccine • Researchers Hopeful About New Alzheimer’s Therapy • Blood Pressure Drugs May Provide Alzheimer’s Protection • Progress Toward Early Alzheimer's Diagnosis Reported • Alzheimer's Cases Up 10% In 5 Years • Loneliness Linked to Dementia • Gene Changes Identified in Alzheimer's • Mental Exercise May Help Seniors • Rote Learning Improves Memory in Seniors • Vegetables May Slow Memory Loss • Cabernet Sauvignon May Reduce Alzheimer's Risk • Fruit Juice May Reduce Alzheimer's Risk • Skin Test May Detect Alzheimer's Disease • Exercise May Prevent Dementia-Like Illnesses • An Apple A Day May Improve Memory • New Drug Reverses Alzheimer's Damage, Australian Researchers Report • Diabetes Drug May Help Treat Alzheimer's • For Women, Weight Loss May Precede Dementia • Researchers "Closer" To Preventing Alzheimer's • Statins Help Memory in Older Women • Study Links Healthy Diet To Reduced Alzheimer's Risk • Tea May Help Combat Alzheimer's • Education May Accelerate Alzheimer's Effects • Alzheimer's Found to be Mostly Genetic • Exercise May Reduce Risk of Dementia in Older People • Researchers Find DNA Link to Alzheimer's • Brain Scan, Fluid Analysis May Help Predict Alzheimer's • Eating Fish Associated With Slower Cognitive Decline • Word Recall An Alzheimer' s Tip-Off? • Interrupted Alzheimer's Trial Produced Promising Results • Gene Therapy May Offer Hope For Alzheimer's Patients • Alzheimer's Researchers Reverse Memory Loss in Mice • Alzheimer's Disease Reveals Itself Earlier, Study Finds

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative affliction that is always fatal, but new research suggests a Mediterranean diet may help people with Alzheimer’s disease live longer than patients who eat a more traditional Western diet.

The study is published in the September 11, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study followed 192 people with Alzheimer’s disease in New York for an average of four and a half years. During that time, 85 of the people died. Researchers found that those who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet were 76 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who followed the diet the least.

“The more closely people followed the Mediterranean diet, the more they reduced their mortality,” said study author Dr. Nikos Scarmeas, of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

“For example, Alzheimer’s patients who adhered to the diet to a moderate degree lived an average 1.3 years longer than those people who least adhered to the diet. And those Alzheimer’s patients who followed the diet very religiously lived an average four years longer.”

Previous research by Scarmeas and his colleagues demonstrated that healthy people who eat a Mediterranean diet lower their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Studies have also shown that healthy people who follow a Mediterranean diet live longer than those who eat a more traditional Western diet, higher in saturated fat and meats and lower in fruits and vegetables.

“New benefits of this diet keep coming out,” said Scarmeas. “We need to do more research to determine whether eating a Mediterranean diet also helps Alzheimer’s patients have slower rates of cognitive decline, maintain their daily living skills, and have a better quality of life.”

The Mediterranean diet includes a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals, fish, monounsaturated fatty acids; a low intake of saturated fatty acids, dairy products, meat and poultry; and a mild to moderate amount of alcohol.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |